Cup with a valve for drinking juice

ABSTRACT

A drinking vessel with a cup having a hollow inner body and an open end, a removable cap for sealingly closing the open end, an outer surface with a spout and an air vent, and an inner surface with a tubular outlet passage and a tubular inlet passage. The cup further contains a one piece flow control valve made of an elastomeric material. The flow control valve contains an inlet valve and an outlet valve joined together by a connector bar. The outlet valve of parabolic configuration has a reinforcing ring and a partition wall, held in place by two jutting out walls that are part of the connector bar. The inlet valve has a tubular edge sitting on two wing-like projections holding a membrane with a slit. The tubular edge is integral with the connector bar and the two wing-like projections, with outlet and inlet valves fitting into the outlet and inlet passages, respectively.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to closed drinking vessels, preferably in theshape of a cup with a screw-on lid having a fluid dispensing valve thatprevents fluids from flowing out unless properly used.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Drinking cups for young children have been in the market for many years,and are well known in the art. A variety of cups with valves arecurrently available commercially, providing a solution to the problem ofchildren spilling their drink by dropping the cup, turning it upsidedown or shaking it. These valves work only by allowing the liquid toflow out when the cup is squeezed or when a person drinks by suckingfrom the spout. The cups may have one or two valves, one for allowingthe liquids to flow out of the cup, and another one for allowing air toflow in. As liquid is sucked from the vessel creating a low-pressurecondition within the vessel, this low-pressure condition draws externalair through the second passageway to maintain a pressure equilibrium.

However, due to their design, the current valves don't work properlywhen used for drinking juices having pulp, blended fruit or otherliquids with suspended particles in them. The suspended particles in theliquid affect the correct working of the valve by partially or totallyblocking the mechanism, and therefore, not allowing the liquids to flowout. Another disadvantage of the prior art is that they are difficult toclean or take a long time to do so. Valves such as those proposed inU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,079,013, 6,250,503 and 6,321,931 contain enclosed partsor angles difficult to reach which make the cleaning process much morecomplicated. In addition the number of parts involved makes such valvesdifficult to manufacture, requiring a lot of manipulation to beassembled. Several types of one-piece valves made of elastomericmaterials, such as silicone rubber have been proposed, for example U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,542,670, 6,050,445 and 6,102,245, these valves are mucheasier to clean and simpler to manufacture. The shortcoming of thesevalves is that they control the liquid flow by means of a small slit inthe elastomeric membrane, therefore acting as a filter that is finallyblocked by the small-suspended solids such as fruit pulp or pieces ofblended fruit.

Accordingly, there is still a need in the art for a cup for drinkingwith a valve that will allow the user to drink liquids with suspendedparticles without the valve getting blocked that can be easily cleanedand is inexpensively manufactured.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a drinking vesselwith an improved valve mechanism that will not get blocked when used fordrinking juices containing pulp, blended fruit or other liquids withsuspended particles.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a valvemechanism that prevents liquids from flowing out of the cup unless theuser sucks upon the spout, creating a lower external pressure than thepressure inside the drinking vessel.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fluiddispensing valve, a cup and a cap that are easy to clean and simple toassemble.

The present invention relates to a drinking container with a valvepreferably in the shape of a cup having a hollow inner body forcontaining liquid with an open end, a cap which encloses the open endand a one piece valve made of an elastomeric material, preferably butnot limited to silicone rubber.

The outer surface of the cap has a drinking spout and an air vent. Theinner surface of the cap has a tubular outlet passage extending belowthe spout and a tubular inlet passage extending below the air vent.

The valve has two different means to attach itself to the tubularpassages. The tubular passage below the spout is sealed by the valve andwill only open and allow the liquid to flow out when a person sucks fromthe spout creating a low-pressure condition. Where the air vent islocated, the valve has a small slit for drawing external air in order tomaintain pressure equilibrium.

Other objects, features, advantages, and benefits of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailedspecification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the drinking vessel;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the drinking vessel showingthe cup, cap and valve assembly;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the inner part of the cap;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the drinking vessel cap;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of valve assembly taken along line 5-5applied to FIG. 4 in another embodiment of the cap;

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the valve;

FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of the valve of FIG. 6;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 andFIG. 2, the drawings show a drinking vessel 20 comprising a cup 28, acap 22 and a flow control valve 30.

The cup 28 has a hollow inner body for containing liquids with an openupper end 60 and an external thread 62 formed circumferentiallytherearound.

The cap 22 (see FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) has an outer surface 36, and an innersurface 38. On the outer surface 36, the cap 22 has a spout 24 with anaperture 68 and an air vent 26. On the inner surface 38, the cap 22 hasa tubular outlet passage 32 with two recesses 40, which are connected tothe spout 24, and a tubular inlet passage 34, which is connected to theair vent 26.

The cap 22 has a cylindrical neck 64 with internal threads 66 formedcircumferentially therearound. The internal thread 66 engages theexternal thread 62 for screwing the cap 22 on to the cups upper end 60,thereby sealingly closing the drinking vessel, except for the aperture68 on the spout 24 and the air vent 26.

The flow control valve 30 (see FIGS. 5 to 7) is made of a single pieceof elastomeric material, preferably silicone rubber, but otherelastomers such as natural rubber or PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) are alsopreferred. An outlet valve 42 and an inlet valve 44, interconnected by aconnector bar 46, form the flow control valve 30.

The outlet valve 42 has a paraboloid configuration comprising areinforcing ring 69 with a narrow partition wall 71 transversal to theaxis of the connector bar 46. The outlet valve 42 being held in place bytwo jutting out walls 56 that are part of the connector bar 46. The twojutting out walls 56 provide more rigidity to the outlet valve 42, butallows for two flexible side parts 48, which act as flexible membranes.The reinforcing ring 69 and the partition wall 71 are provided to avoiddeformation of the two flexible side parts 48; therefore allowing for alonger period of use.

The inlet valve 44 has a tubular edge 50 sitting on two wing-likeprojections 70 holding the membrane 54 with a slit 52 in the middle. Thetubular edge 50 is integral with the connector bar 46 and the twowing-like projections 70.

These wing-like projections 70 are provided for safety reasons (i.e.,for an infant not to swallow it) and not for functional ones.

The outlet valve 42 fits into the tubular outlet passage 32 that isconnected to the spout 24, and is held in place by pressure as theconnector bar 46 fits into the pair of recesses 40. The inlet valve 44fits by friction around the tubular inlet passage 34 by means of thetubular edge 50.

Once the fluid control valve 30 is attached to the tubular outletpassage 32 and the tubular inlet passage 34, as previously described,the liquid inside the cup 28 will only flow out if a person inverts thecups 28 position, therefore moving the liquid towards the cap, and sucksat the spout 24 creating a lower external pressure than the pressureinside the drinking vessel 20. This difference in pressure bends the twoflexible side parts 48 of the outlet valve 42 towards the spout 24,therefore allowing the liquid to flow through the tubular outlet passage32 and finally flow out of the drinking vessel 20 though the aperture68. As the liquid flows out, it creates a low-pressure condition in thedrinking vessel 20, this difference in pressure forces air in throughthe slit 52 of the inlet valve 44. When the person stops sucking at thespout 24, the two flexible side parts 48 return to their originalposition stopping the liquid from flowing out. Due to the type ofmaterial used in the manufacture of the flow control valve 30, as soonas the suction force that keeps the flexible side parts 48 opened orbent ceases, the pressure of the two flexible sides 48 contacting theinner wall of the outlet passage 32 closes the outlet passage 32. Theslit 52 also closes, and acts as a non-return valve, so that the liquidinside the vessel 20 is thereby prevented from flowing out through theair vent 26.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, other embodiments could be manufactured withthe outlet valve and outlet passage having an oval shape; the outletvalve having one flexible side acting as a membrane, etc. Thus, it willbe obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the scope ofthe invention as defined in the appended claims.

1. A drinking vessel comprising: a cup having a hollow inner body and anopen end; a removable cap for sealingly closing said open end,comprising an outer surface with a spout and an air vent, and an innersurface with a tubular outlet passage and a tubular inlet passage; a onepiece flow control valve, made of an elastomeric material, comprising aninlet valve and an outlet valve joined together by a connector bar, saidoutlet valve of parabolic configuration having a reinforcing ring and apartition wall, held in place by two jutting out walls that are part ofsaid connector bar, said inlet valve having a tubular edge sitting ontwo wing-like projections holding a membrane with a slit, said tubularedge being integral with the connector bar and the two wing-likeprojections, said outlet and inlet valves fitting into said outlet andinlet passages, respectively.
 2. The drinking vessel of claim 1 whereinsaid tubular outlet passage protrudes from under said spout and having apair of recesses at its open end.
 3. The drinking vessel of claim 1wherein said outlet valve fits by pressure into the tubular outletpassage as the connector bar fits into said pair of recesses, and saidinlet valve fits by friction around the tubular inlet passage by meansof the tubular edge.
 4. The drinking vessel of claim 1 wherein saidoutlet valve comprises a pair of flexible side parts that act asflexible membranes.
 5. The drinking vessel of claim 1 wherein said slitof said membrane of the inlet valve being in the middle.
 6. The drinkingvessel of claim 1 wherein said partition wall of the outlet valve istransversal to the axis of said connector bar.